Gold chain snatched from elderly woman in Crossings Republik

In yet another case of chain snatching, a 64-year-old woman was robbed of her gold chain by two unidentified men near the gate of Ajnara Gen-X in Crossings Republik on Thursday afternoon.

The victim identified as Manju Varshney, a resident of Gaur Global Village, was heading towards home along with four other women, when the incident took place. A man attacked her on the neck and snatched away her gold chain. Ghaziabad News

The incident, which happened around 12:38 pm, left minor injuries on the neck of the victim. A formal complaint has been registered at the police chowki of the area.

Narrating the incident, the complainant’s son Ankit Varshney, said, “A man grabbed the neck of my mother and tried to snatch her gold chain. When she tried to resist, he pulled her to the ground and nearly choked her. Later he managed to run away with the chain.”

Police have got the CCTV footage of the cameras installed at the gate of Ajnara and Crossings’ round-about.

Kavish Malik, in-charge of Crossings Republik police chowki, said that two bike-borne assailants came on a black Pulsar. “The assailants arrived at the scene at 12:36 pm and waited till 12:38 pm. As soon as they saw the women approaching, one of the assailants ran towards them and snatched the chain while other waited on the bike. They can be seen driving towards neighbouring Dundahera village,” he said.

“It looks like they had already spotted the group of women and were waiting for them,” Malik added. The police has noted the registration number of the bike.

The incident, however, has once again raised questions about the lapses in security at Crossings Republik. Crossings Infrastructure Private Limited (CIPL), the construction and maintenance agency of Crossings Republik, looks after the security of the area.

Sanjiv Pandey, president of Gaur Global Village AOA, blamed the security personnel guarding the premises for such incidents. “The guards at the gate don’t keep track of vehicles entering and leaving the premises. Anyone can enter and exit the township freely. Also, the cameras installed are not up to the mark," he added.

Malik also said that the quality of CCTV footage received was sub-standard.

However, CIPL officials refuted the allegations. Manoj Gaur, director of CIPL, said that it wasn’t possible to maintain the record of vehicular movements through the gates of Crossings Republik as these aren’t private roads. “Societies can track the movement, we can’t,” he added.

Anuj Garg, security in-charge of Crossings Republik, said that there are 36 cameras installed at all the entry and exit points of the township but it’s practically not possible to cover every corner.

Crossings Republik is yet to become a gated township. The roads of the township are used by nearby villagers to commute towards Shahberi resulting in unchecked entry of outsiders.  However, the CIPL had promised the residents that it would be a gated township during the time of booking of flats. The issue is stuck as CIPL has failed to procure many portions of the township. 

Multipoint power connections to further burden consumers in Noida, GreNo and Gzb

People living in the high-rises across Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad were feeling relieved following the state govt's order to builders to provide multipoint power connections, replacing single-point but what they failed to realise is the additional financial burden which needs to be borne by them now!

Consumers, who had already paid a huge amount to the developers to get the connection at the time of possession, will be forced to pay again in the form of infrastructure cost besides fifteen thousand rupees for separate meter connection.

Though the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) is yet to decide the infrastructure fee for individual societies, the corporation has made it clear the developer will have to bear the entire cost. Ghaziabad News

“Entire cost of such modification or change in the network system shall be borne by the (developer) and in turn you can recover this cost from the individual allottee / owner in proportion to the contracted load allotted to each individual owner,” a notification issued by the Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL) to the builders read.

Residents are miffed because the developers charge between Rs 10,000 and 20,000 for per KW connection as the cost varies for each individual society. At present, the consumers in Gautam Buddh Nagar pay Rs 6.10 per unit with an additional 11 per cent regulatory charge and 5 per cent as fix charge to the builders. Residents feel there will be a hike in the maintenance charge as well which is at present Rs 2.25 per sq feet in almost every society. 

When City Spidey sought a reply on why residents would be paying again if they had already paid for the same facility, a NPCL official said, “This is the policy framed by the state govt and not by us, so it has to be followed.”

Sanjeev Saxena, a resident of Eco-village 2 in Greater Noida West, said, “Two years back, I had paid Rs 22,000 apart from 11 per cent as regulatory charge for per KW which cost me more than 80,000. Now, I have to pay around Rs 25,000-30,000 as infrastructure cost and Rs 15,000 for meter connection. What about them who took the possession of their flats recently? Will the developer adjust paid amount? It is going to be another issue of conflict between the residents and the builder for sure.” 

“We are forced to pay this due to the corrupt system of UPPCL. So far, we were harassed by the builder and now the power corporation is harassing us. They are supposed to change the single point connection into multipoint by March 31, 2019. The officials have not done anything yet and therefore to hide their failure, they have come up with this policy,” said Joginder Singh, a resident of Amrapali Zodiac.

It is important to note the power corporation would be responsible for its distribution whereas the builder or Apartment Owners Association (AOA) would be responsible for maintaining the system within the society.

For the uninitiated, there would be a slab system for power bills. Those who would consume electricity up to 150 units will have to pay Rs 4.90 with additional 11 pc regulatory charge per unit, Rs 5.40 for the reading between 151-300 units, Rs 6.40 for the reading between 301-500 units whereas those who will be consuming above 500 units, will have to pay Rs 6.50 per unit.

Dwarka’s Sector 4 market turns into a garbage-strewn dump

For the residents of Dwarka, a routine visit to Sector 4 market, which is also one of the busiest markets of sub city, has become an ordeal these days owing to its dirty and messy condition.

The first thing that hits you as soon as you enter the market is the stench coming from sewer overflow and garbage lying everywhere. Overflowing garbage bins and trash scattered everywhere is a common sight here.

And then there is the never ending problem of encroachments that has made it impossible to find a parking spot and even walk here.

Residents say neither DDA nor South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is doing anything about the situation. Vimal Srivastava, a resident of Sector 4, said, “The responsibility to maintain the markets in Dwarka lies with DDA or SDMC, but they both have failing miserably. It’s sad to see a well-planned market like this lying in such a mess.”

Dilapidated floor and waterlogged streets have become a safety risk for the visitors and especially elderly. Seema Verma, a resident of Sector 4, said, “It has become impossible to walk here. I had even complained to SDMC and DDA officials on the matter but nothing came out of it.”

The corridors of the market have been encroached upon by unauthorised vendors leaving no space for walking. “How is it possible that the authorities have no idea about the rampant encroachment here? They are the ones who are in a shielded way promoting all this,” asked Rakesh Kumar, a regular visitor to the market.

Meanwhile, shop-owners blame civic authorities and administration for the mess. “Vendors here are running their illegal shops because some people in the civic authorities are allowing them to. These makeshift eateries are largely responsible for littering garbage everywhere and even in sewer lines leading to overflow. Shop-owners take rent from these vendors and allow them to put up a stall in the corridors,” said a shop owner who did not want to be named.

Talking on the issue, officials from DDA and SDMC said they will take action against offenders and will work towards improving civic amenities in the market.

What really happened to the police proposal of CCTV coverage of Indirapuram?

In view of the rising incidents of chain and mobile snatching in the city, Ghaziabad Police has decided to identify spots from where more than five cases have been reported. But on the other hand, plans to cover all areas of Indirapuram through CCTV surveillance has been put on hold.

As per an internal assessment by the police, Indirapuram is the “second-most prone area” to have reported such incidents. “The maximum number of cases has been reported from Sahibabad followed by Indirapuram and Kavi Nagar,” a police official said.

Alok Kumar, president of Federation of Apartments Owners Association (FedAOA), said, “The plan, once started with much enthusiasm, is now on the backburner due to lack of diligence from the police administration.”

Kumar also said that he tried to follow up several times with the police, urging them to issue letters to RWAs and seek their support, but to no avail.

“At its general board meeting held in September, the federation had spoken in favour of installation of CCTV cameras among member societies. Many societies, like Niho Scottish, have indeed installed cameras outside the society. But, on the whole, the plan fizzled out due to lack of encouragement by the police,” he added.

In the same meeting, the federation and representatives of police and district administration had urged RWAs to install high-resolution cameras outside their gates.

SDM City, Vivek Mishra, and then SHO of Indirapuram, Sachin Malik, had spoken on the importance of camera surveillance before the AOAs of Indirapuram, Raj Nagar Extension and Crossings Republik.

Kumar added that the transfer of Indirapuram SHO and SP City had somehow put spanner in the works.

SSP Upendra Kumar Agrawal told City Spidey that the police administration is in talks with different agencies regarding CCTV coverage of the city.

“For now, we are in talks with Ghaziabad Development Authority and Municipal Corporation to install cameras across Ghaziabad,” he added.

Agrawal also assured that the police will also persuade high-rises and commercial establishments to do the same.

Meanwhile, Agrawal has directed all Station House Officers (SHO)s to compile a list of chain and mobile snatching incidents in the last five years. He also asked for a list of criminals who were arrested for loot-and-dacoity cases between 2013 and October 2018, but are currently on bail.

Builder cuts power for not paying dues; messy work irks Ebony Greens residents

One more incident of conflict between the residents and builder regarding basic issues has come to light - this time from Lal Kuan’s Ebony Greens, in which the latter disconnected the power supply of over 80 households on Saturday for not paying the outstanding dues of maintenance fee for back-up power in the society. As a result, residents had to suffer for 12 hours without electricity.

“When we approached maintenance office to know the reason, the bouncers deployed there heckled and did not allow us to talk to the staff,” said Abhishek Gupta, Joint Secretary of the society’s Apartments Owners Association (AOA).

"Residents called the Ghaziabad Police to intervene in the matter and only then, the power supply resumed. We also filed a police complaint next day," added Gupta.

RP Mishra, AGM of facilities, told City Spidey the power supply were interrupted of those households only whose arrears had crossed fifty thousand rupees. “We conveyed this to the residents as well,” he added.

The maintenance of the society is looked after by the builder and the majority of residents have stopped paying maintenance since the month of April, said Gupta.

“However, residents claimed they never stopped paying electricity charge to the builder,” added Gupta.

When we asked Gupta to know the reason behind it, he said the residents had to resort to this action because the builder had done several works haphazardly which is evident from the look of the society. “One can see the plasters on the walls withering, cracks in the staircases. Apart from this, seepage in buildings is a persistent problem and lifts too stop working regularly,” Gupta said.


Besides, the one and a half kilometer-long connecting road from the society to main road of Lal Kuan is yet to be constructed. “The road is muddy and turns into a swamp during monsoon. Residents face harrowing time while commuting through it,” he added.


“The residents had sent several reminders, held talks with the builder to resolve these issues but to no avail. Finally, we went to the Ghaziabad Development Authority where the builder was ordered to finish the things, otherwise further construction in the campus would be freezed,” Gupta told City Spidey.

However, Mishra denied the claim made by Gupta. “We were told to construct the road and to submit the necessary documents for completion certificate. Nothing else,” he said.

Besides, the residents also blamed the builder for increasing power back-up charge by 50 per cent without seeking consent of the residents.

“In January 2018, the price was revised from 16 to 19 pc which further hiked to 24 pc in September 2018,” Mishra said.

“We pushed the hike in tandem with the constant rise in diesel price. However, since the price has fallen down, we will reduce the charge of back-up power as well,” he added.

RESIDENT SPEAK: 'Pollution shortens life expectancy...'

Air pollution has become a big threat, and is more harmful for health than smoking, consumption of alcohol, and even drug abuse. Pollution shortens life expectancy, and it’s high time governments and communities across the globe pull up their socks and act to minimise it.

Air quality has become a serious cause for concern, as 75 per cent of the global population — or 5.5 billion people — live in areas where particulate pollution exceeds the WHO guidelines.

On an average, people in India will live 4.3 years longer if the country meets the Indian guidelines – expanding the average life expectancy from 69 to 73 years.

The problem of air pollution is more severe in the northern part of India, also known as the Gangetic plains. In the USA, about a third of the population lives in areas with pollution levels higher than the WHO guidelines.

Rather than coming out with new rules, improving enforcement of existing laws and regulations have better results.

Why this spurt in stray attacks at GH-7 of Crossings Republik?

The attacks on children by strays are becoming alarmingly frequent in high-rises. Strangely, the same stray attacked a 7-year-old child, Adamya Singh, of GH-7 in Crossings Republik twice within a span of three days.

In the first incident, the boy escaped with deep scratches on his back. In the second, he was bitten on his thighs.

Doctors say incidents of attack by the same dog happen only when the dog senses terror from the object, in this case, the child. “Dogs usually do this with a person who has troubled them in any way in the past, or if they perceive a threat to their lives in the presence of that person,” explained Dr. Preetpal Singh, in-charge of Canine Rabies Unit, Meerut zone.

But the father, Inderjeet Singh, claims his child used to in fact feed the dog when it was puppy a year ago. “My child used to feed biscuits, chips and chapattis to that dog. Never has he beaten him, or troubled him in any way.”

On Saturday, a pack of three dogs attacked Adamya while he was playing in the park, while this particular dog left Grade-3 injuries on his back. Again, on Tuesday, a group of dogs chased the boy while he was cycling. Surprisingly, the same stray bit on his thighs this time.

“GH-7 is now infamous in Crossings Republik for dog-related incidents. Daily we hear about some dog chasing some kid, or attacking someone in GH-7,” opined a few residents from other societies.

Rohit Chaudhary, president of the society, said that the residents of the society, especially kids are feeling terrorised. “Parents are not sure whether they want to send their kids to play outside.”

Chaudhary blamed Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) for failing to sterilise the dogs. He claimed at least 100 dogs are present in society.

However, Sumedha Iyer, president of People for Animals (PFA), refuted Chaudhary’s claims. She said in the last three drives, PFA has sterilized over 35 dogs. She also claimed the current number of dogs in society is no more than 30. PFA is a nodal agency appointed by GMC for sterilisation and vaccination of dogs in Ghaziabad.

Besides, Iyer blamed the AOA of the society for poor guarding of their boundaries, which allows outside dogs to enter the society premises. “They have some areas where there are gaps in the boundaries. They have a gate that stays open all the time. There are multiple points from where outside dogs frequently come inside. Our all efforts will go vain if they don’t secure their boundaries.”

To this, the father of the boy added, “Our guards are lethargic. They were unable to stop a bike theft in the society, how would they secure the campus from the outside dogs!”

Chaudhary, however, refuted the allegations of inefficient security of the campus, but he agreed that one of the gates, under construction currently, stays unmanned at all times.

But here's the important question — how to avoid such hostile encounters?

Here’s what Dr. Preetpal Singh had to say: “Continue standing still in front of dogs rather than start running in panic. Dogs tend to chase and attack those who do so. Also, look away from the dogs during such potentially aggressive encounters — dogs will smell, bark a few times and walk off.  The bottomline — those in a vulnerable situation should not break into a run, or look straight at the dogs.”

Snatching incidents on rise in Dwarka; people mull ways to combat it

People have started becoming very cautious to use services lanes in Dwarka. This has happened because of many snatching incidents which have been reported recently. Chain snatching, mobile snatching and even car snatching were noticed in the recent past.

On November 26, a car was snatched on gunpoint in front of the Beverly Park society in Sector 22. The incident has raised many questions about the safety of the residents in the vicinity.

These kinds of crimes keep on happening at these lanes since a long time.

President of Vishrantika Apartments, Sumant Chaturvedi said, “The service lanes are vulnerable because it is less crowded. Chain snatching, mobile snatching and purse snatching incidents have happened to the people who were walking. These crimes generally happen during morning and evening hours.”

People shared that the service lanes are vulnerable because of poor lighting. They also said that there is also less patrolling by police on these lanes. “The movement of vehicles are also less in these lanes,” they added.

Residents said that the chain snatching incidents mostly happened near the society’s gate while the women were either standing to buy vegetables or talking to someone.

Vishal Gupta, treasurer of Lovely Home Apartments said, “Most of the time, people don’t file an FIR. But, it is high time that people should do it and alert police about repeated incidents. These crimes can be controlled.”

RWAs and managements of the societies expressed that a proper vigil from the police and proper lighting in the service lanes could be more effective in checking such crimes. They said that patrolling is one of the effective measures to keep the service lanes safer.

President of Sri Hari Apartments, NC Mishra said, “An attempt of chain snatching was made against my wife just in front of my society a few months back. She somehow escaped but I realised that how unsafe these stretches have become.”

RWAs and managements of the societies had installed CCTV cameras in the service lanes on the suggestion of the police. Many societies are doing it to keep the space around the society under proper vigilance. In some of the cases, criminals were arrested too with the help of CCTV footages.

Now, the RWAs are planning to go for a scheme of Delhi Police under which training will be imparted to private security guards of the societies.

General Secretary of Federation of Cooperative Group Housing Societies, Sudha Sinha said, “We are going to promote the Prahari Scheme of Delhi Police so that the guards could be trained. As most incidents happen near society’s gate, the role of guards will be important. We are contacting the RWAs and the managements to make them aware about the importance of training.

“On December 1, a meeting would be organised in which a member from the RWA or management and a guard from each society would be invited to talk on the subject at Sector 23. We want to make the area safe and our federation is working in that direction,” she added.

ACP of Dwarka, Rajender Singh said, “Patrolling would be increased in the service lanes. Also, we are trying to bring societies under Prahari Scheme. It will be very beneficial.”

No more homework for class I, II students; weight of school bags fixed

To ensure healthy physical and mental growth of the children, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on Monday issued a circular asking all the states and Union Territories to ensure that there is no homework for the kids studying in class I and II.

The circular has also mentioned regulation of the teaching of subjects and weight of the school bags.

The Ministry has asked all the school which comes under the ambit of the department of education to start following the order with immediate effect.

The move has come amidst many reports of increased pressure on school going kids these days. Children are getting overburdened with homework. As a result, they were not able to carry out leisure activities.

Now, children will have enough time for outdoor and indoor activities. The move has come as a relief for parents who used to spend hours helping their kids complete the homework.

“Schools should not prescribe any other subjects except language and mathematics for classes I and II and language, EVS and mathematics for classes III to V students as prescribed by the NCERT,” the order said.

Children should not be asked to bring additional books, extra materials and the weight of a school bag should not exceed the prescribed limit, the order added.

The weight of school bags for students of Classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while the school bag of students of Class III to V should weigh between 2 kg to 3 kg.

The school bag of students of Classes VI and VII should not be more than 4 kg, while the weight of school bags of Classes VIII and IX students should not be above 4.5 kg. The school bag of a Class X student should not weigh above 5 kg, the order said.

Car snatched at gunpoint in front of Jaypee CGHS in Sector 22, Dwarka

A car was snatched at gunpoint in front of Beverly Park Apartments (Jaypee CGHS) in Sector 22, Dwarka, on the intervening night of November 26 and 27.

According to the guards at the society gate, the incident happened in the service lane. Society secretary Brijesh Srivastava spoke of the incident on a WhatsApp group called Dwarka City Solution.

Here’s what he wrote: “On the night of 26-27 Nov at about 1.20 am, a resident of Beverly Park, Sector 22, came out of the main gate to see off her friend, who had parked his car in service lane. Within minutes, a gang of 4 young people came and snatched the car keys, mobile and took away their car. This was done on gunpoint as reported by the victims. Immediately, the PCR was called by the guard who lodged the complaint with the sector 23 police station. [sic]”

City Spidey spoke to the president of the society, Brig (Rtd) OP Yadav. He said police took hold of CCTV footage and is investigating the matter. 

ACP Dwarka Rajender Singh said, “We are working on some clues.”

Such incidents have become a regular affair in Dwarka. Recently, in an incident in Sector 19, a car was snatched at gunpoint just outside the gate of Bharat Vandana Apartments. Incidents of chain and mobile snatching have also been reported from Sector 22 and 23.

Opining on the rising incidents of thefts, RK Singh, a resident of Sector 4, said, “The police and RWAs should start thinking in tandem. They should sit together and plan measures to increase safety of service lanes, where most of the incidents are happening.”

Noida MP demands land to set up passport office

After the announcement of new passport office, Union Minister and local MP Mahesh Sharma has asked the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to provide 300 sqft area of land for this purpose.

Sharma had announced that a passport office will be set up in Noida by February next year. After the new office, the residents will not be required to visit Ghaziabad to apply for the passports.

The MP has already got the nod from the Ministry of External Affairs to establish passport services from the head post offices in Noida and Greater Noida.

It comes under the scheme of utilising all the head post offices as post office passport seva kendra (POPSK). Under the scheme, it was said that POPSK will be there at all the constituencies which are 50 km away from the nearest passport office. Noida news

The District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, BN Singh was happy with the move. He said, “New passport office will be very beneficial for the Noida residents. But, I am yet to receive written order for it. We will be facilitating the setup of new office once we receive the written order.”

Noida Authority’s OSD Rajesh Kumar Singh said, “We will provide all support in setting up of new passport office in Noida.”

A resident of Antriksh Forest, Peeyush Aggarwal said that it's a very good initiative by local MP or we can say that it's a good move before election 2019. “Yes it is beneficial for everyone who lives in Noida and Greater Noida.” he added.

At present, the Noida residents visit the passport office in Ghaziabad as it is the nearest office. The office in Ghaziabad is currently overloaded with work. It caters to places such as Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Hapur and other places.

AOA issue: Deadlock between residents, developer of Exotica Dreamville continues

Following the long-pending demand, the residents of the Exotica Dreamville have unanimously decided to form the Apartment Owners Association (AOA), fixing December 2 as the date of election to proceed further. However, the issue regarding the appointment of members has become a bone of contention between the developer and the people living in the high-rise of Greater Noida West.

Residents have formed a 12-member election committee to conduct the poll to elect ten board members for the AOA whereas the developer wants two members of his own in the association.

People residing in Exotica argue if the AOA is formed accepting the nominees of the developer, then it would be an interim committee that would be valid for 90 days only.

“We want to establish the AOA as a permanent body that would be registered under the registrar of the societies. If that happens, we would have a procedure to elect AOA members in the future. Whereas, the developer want to take control on AOA through its nominated members,” said a resident.

However, when City Spidey contacted the developer to understand his point of view on this matter, one of the officials said the conflict is because of the differences among residents and not related to the appointment of which they are talking about.

“We have been insisting to form AOA since one and half years but the conflict among the residents is delaying the process. Around 30 per cent residents are against the formation of AOA. We have asked them to form it, with the consensus of at least 2/3rd residents otherwise, it would be invalid.”

Residents, however, refute the allegations made by the developer and call it a tactic to retain his authority.

This conflict emerged after the builder increased common area maintenance charge by Rs 2.25 per sq feet against the existing Rs 1.85 per sq feet. The residents had unanimously opposed this hike in the meeting held on Sunday and fixed December 2 as the date of election.

Dwarka police organises awareness drives to promote Himmat Plus app

In a bid to promote Delhi Police’s women’s safety app—Himmat Plus— in Dwarka, local police is organising awareness drives these days in neighbourhood parks talking about the various features and benefits of the app.

Dwarka News

One such event was recently organised at DDA park in Sector 3 last week where volunteers from social organisation, Choti Si Khushi, along with police mitra, Indu Garg, and local police helped over 70 women and girls download the app.

Talking to City Spidey, Indu Garg said, “We met a lot of women at the event and helped them understand how the app can act as SOS helpline for them. It is a very user-friendly app. Over the coming months, we will be organising more such events.”

Apart from locals, the event was attended by several members of resident welfare associations (RWAs) of the area. The volunteers demonstrated how to download the app and how to use it in case of an emergency.

Namita Chaudhary, secretary of Choti Si Khushi, said, “We are here to help both the locals as well as police. More such programmes will be held in future to make people understand how they can ensure their own safety.”

ACP Dwarka Rajender Singh told City Spidey that the involvement of social organisation has helped the programme. “In the past, we have held such programmes with RWAs but now we are focusing on getting the community people involved.”In a bid to promote Delhi Police’s women’s safety app—Himmat Plus— in Dwarka, local police is organising awareness drives these days in neighbourhood parks talking about the various features and benefits of the app.

One such event was recently organised at DDA park in Sector 3 last week where volunteers from social organisation, Choti Si Khushi, along with police mitra, Indu Garg, and local police helped over 70 women and girls download the app.

Talking to City Spidey, Indu Garg said, “We met a lot of women at the event and helped them understand how the app can act as SOS helpline for them. It is a very user-friendly app. Over the coming months, we will be organising more such events.”

Apart from locals, the event was attended by several members of resident welfare associations (RWAs) of the area. The volunteers demonstrated how to download the app and how to use it in case of an emergency.

Namita Chaudhary, secretary of Choti Si Khushi, said, “We are here to help both the locals as well as police. More such programmes will be held in future to make people understand how they can ensure their own safety.”

ACP Dwarka Rajender Singh told City Spidey that the involvement of social organisation has helped the programme. “In the past, we have held such programmes with RWAs but now we are focusing on getting the community people involved.”

KDP Grand Savanna residents dump dogs outside after repeated biting incidents

Infuriated with increasing dog menace in KDP Grand Savanna, a high-rise in Rajnagar Extension, the residents on Thursday took the matter in their own hands by catching over eight stray dogs inside the society premises using a net and released them far from the society. This strong reaction was followed by four dog bite incidents in the last two days.

On Wednesday evening, a five-year-old Shauryaman was brutally attacked by a stray dog inside society’s campus. The incident caused injuries to his nose, back, hips, and a thigh. His parents rushed him to the Max Hospital. Later, he was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

“The doctors have advised us to keep an eye on the behaviour of the stray dog which had bit the boy as it is important for the future course of remedial action,” the boy’s mother said.

In another incident on Wednesday, six-year-old Aryash was bitten by a stray dog while he was playing in the society’s garden area. “I was casually walking when the dog suddenly attacked me from behind. He pinned me down and bitten my left thigh,” Aryash explained his ordeal to City Spidey.

One security guard and a housekeeping lady were also attacked and bitten by the dogs on Thursday.

A resident on the condition of anonymity also told City Spidey that in last thirty days, the society witnessed over a dozen dog bite cases.

However, none of them was reported to the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) or People For Animals (PFA). PFA is an agency which has been appointed by GMC to look after sterilization and vaccination of stray dogs.

The residents also blamed the lackadaisical attitude of security guards and facility management.

JN Tyagi, a resident of the society and member of Federation of AOA, Raj Nagar Extension, said that AOA and facility management are not taking any step to sterilize and vaccinate the dogs inside society premises. “Also, the poor security allows the other dogs to come freely and stay in the society,” he added.

Tyagi also termed the action of trapping dogs via the net as a drama. “We have seen such things earlier as well. Such steps are taken only to calm down the agitated residents. Neither they (guards and maintenance management) have the courage nor have the expertise to catch the dogs,” he added further.

Sumedha Iyer, president of PFA, said, “If such step has been taken, then it’s a direct violation of the notification of Animal Welfare Board of India and contempt of Supreme Court’s verdict. Their action is illegal and invites an FIR if found true.”

She also said that the residents should have immediately contacted PFA with the medical certificate authenticating dog bite to the victim and an application letter instead of resorting to such techniques. “We would have acted immediately,” she added.

However, the residents have jointly written an application to GMC and Councillor Sanjeev Tyagi requesting them to step in and resolve the issue at the earliest.

DJB finally starts work on choked sewer line in Sector 6, Dwarka

Work on the sewer line in Sector 6 has finally started to solve the problem of overflow. According to Delhi Jal Board officials, work is to be completed by this week. Heavy silt had choked the main sewer line along the stretch of Plots 30-35 in Sector 6.

And who bore the brunt? Societies such as Skylark Apartments, Shivalik Apartments, True Friends Apartments and Kalka Apartments.

DJB Executive Engineer, Dwarka, Anil Sharma, said to City Spidey, “This stretch was completely chocked and the only solution was to lay down a separate line.”

Happy with the development, adviser of managing committee of Shivalik Apartments, PK Chopra, said, “Finally, they have woken up to the problem. We are thankful to the DJB and also to City Spidey that covered the matter.”

For the last six months, the problem had made life difficult for the residents of the area.

President of SkyLark Apartments, Sunil Dubey, had written to the DJB on the matter and also shared the grievance on various WhatsApp groups.

Lost your phone in Gzb? Now, file an online complaint

If you lose your mobile phone anywhere in Ghaziabad or in case it gets stolen, you don’t need to rush to a police station to register a complaint, you can now do it online also.

Ghaziabad police has started an online directory where one can register lost complaint for mobile phones. The complainant needs to fill up a form asking details about the phone such as its model number, make, IMEI number, as well as date and time of the incident.

The link of the directory is available on Facebook page and Twitter handle of Ghaziabad police. The directory will come under direct supervision of SSP Upendra Kumar Agrawal and SP (city) Shlok Kumar.

In recent times, the areas of Sahibabad and Indirapuram have seen an exponential rise in mobile theft or loss cases. Over 1,100 such cases are pending with the police.

Mobile theft or loss cases usually rate low on the priority list for police, because of which many cases are not even reported.

Kumar said the initiative would help in efficient tracking of mobile phones and their recovery rate will improve. “We are most of the times so busy with crime cases that mobile theft cases get neglected. But the number of unsolved cases keeps adding up. It is an online directory and people can file a complaint from their home also,” he added.

GreNo: Residents of Green Arch raise other key issues; demand prompt action

Besides the random allotment of parking spaces, which invited the wrath of the residents recently, there are other issues that are bothering the people living in the Greater Noida West's Green Arch society.

Residents living in Block-A have complained that rapid construction work, going on in the adjoining under-construction high-rise – Himalaya Pride, is creating nuisance for them.

“Construction work is being carried out without covering the building with green shed and therefore, dust and big-size concrete directly fall in our society. Under-construction building is hardly 30-40 feet away from Green Arch. People living in this particular block cannot even walk along the lane during the daytime,” one of the residents from Block-A told City Spidey.

Dwarka: Faulty storm water drains become nuisance at Metro View Apartments

The residents are having tough time in managing the storm water drains at of Metro View Apartments in Dwarka. The RWA of the society said that the drains have become chocked with stagnation of water and silt.

The RWA said that the faulty design of the drain is causing the problem. They shared that they always find it difficult to clean the drain properly.

President of the RWA, Vinod Rawat said, “The sewer lines from each blocks cross from the storm water drains. The pipe of sewer blocks the storm water drains. As a result, silt accumulates at that point. It is also very difficult to clean the drain. We have raised the issue to the concerned agency but they never looked into it.”

Rawat added that there are as many as 40 points in the society where sewer pipes cross the storm water drain.

The RWA also pointed towards other faults in storm water drains. They said that the drains were also having dead-ends at some places. Encroachment over drains also makes proper maintenance of drains very difficult.

“We have brought the subject in the notice of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) but they have not done anything. The area Councillor does not respond to the matter,” they said.

The RWA had earlier tried to solve the problem at their level. But, they were not able to do so because of large amount of tender.

Assistant secretary of RWA, SC Dogra said “After being fed up with the response of corporation, we tried to clean the drain through our own fund. But, the demand of contractor was out of our budge. This is sad that the concerned agency is not taking interest. They should think over it.”

City Spidey contacted the Mayor of SDMC, Narendra Chawla over the matter. He assured to look into the subject. He said that he would visit the society and meet the RWA. “I have a plan to take a round of Dwarka. In that, I would visit Metro View Apartments to know the subject and find its solution.”

Noida Authority launches MoHUA app for residents to qualify for Swachhata survey

Now, residents of Noida can download the swachhata app the called Swachhata-MoHUA from the Google Play Store. Launched by Noida Authority, the launch is Noida’s attempt to qualify for Swachhata Survekshan 2019.    

A minimum of 15 per cent of total population of Noida has to download this app to allow Noida to qualify for Swachhata Survekshan 2019.

Developed by ministry of housing and urban affairs, the app will address sanitation issues of residents through a control room managed jointly by the Project Implementation Team of Swachh Bharat Mission and Noida Authority.

To participate in the cleanliness survey next year, Noida has to comply in four categories of waste management, collection and transportation, sanitation, documentation and public feedback.

Each category comprises 1,250 points. To comply with the 2019 survey, one needs a total of 5,000 points. The app is part of one such category.

Dwarka: Review meet held between RWAs, SDMC officials on waste management

In order to make the area adopt zero waste lifestyle in future, a review meeting was held between Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs), managements of several societies in Sectors 22, 23 and officials of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Saturday at the Sector 23 Community Hall, Dwarka. The meet, organised by the Association of Neighbourhood Ladies Get-Together (ANHLGT), was called to discuss issues related to waste segregation and sanitation.

Leader of the House (SDMC) and Councillor of the area, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, present on the occasion, was given a list of problems of the area related to sanitation. She assured people the Corporation will provide large machines for composting and it would be there in each ward by January. 

Some of the societies, which have already started the process of waste segregation, shared their experience and asked the SDMC officials to provide sufficient facilities to keep waste management proper and continuous. Besides, some of the residents from these sectors shared how they were doing composting of kitchen waste in their own house.

Sanitary Inspector of the area, Kuldeep Yadav said, “We are doing our best with the limited resources we have. I am trying to ensure the lifting of waste in separate form and transfer the kitchen waste to the composting pots made by us in different parks and vacant lands in both the sectors.”

Meanwhile, president of Green Tower Apartments (Sector 23), Shyam Lal Langar told City Spidey, “A lot of work still needs to be done to make it a successful model of waste management but we are hopeful as SDMC has started taking initiative. We are ready to support them. In fact, we have already started playing our role.” However, Langar accepted the pace of work was not satisfactory.

When City Spidey asked the president of the ANHLGT, Cicily Kodiyan about their objective and future course of action, she said, “We, as a social organisation, are making our efforts to make Sector 22 and 23 a model sector. We are meeting people and asking them to spread the awareness for waste segregation and composting. More such review meetings would be organised to make both model sectors on waste management.”

Earlier in October, a similar meeting was organised to interact with the residents of both the sectors in which the concept of model sector was introduced. It was decided the meet with them will take place at least once in a month to review the success in the direction of waste management and composting.

Draft of UP Lift Act ready; residents demand quick implementation

Following the long-pending demand by the residents living in high-rises of Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida, the Uttar Pradesh's Public Works Department (PWD) has finally prepared a draft of the Lift Act and forwarded it to the state administration for immediate implementation.

In its letter to additional chief secretary of state administration, the PWD has requested for a thorough study of the draft by the state’s judicial department as it has been made after studying the Lift Acts of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and other states.

Being one of their major worries, the residents have been demanding an Act to govern installation of lifts and to fix the onus of maintenance in case of an untoward incident. In the absence of an Act currently, developers install poor quality lifts, which do not have automatic rescue devices, no service lifts and no monitoring by the local authorities.

Alok Kumar, president of Federation of Apartments Owners Association (FedAOA), said that whenever he went to police stations to fix responsibility in any lift related incidents, officials seemed confused due to the absence of such Act. 

"They used to say that accountability can't be fixed without a law," Kumar added. 

The Federation of Apartments Owners Association, which spearheaded the campaign for the Lift Act since 2015, said their fight will continue till the enactment of the law. “We have been fighting for four years. The government should pass it as soon as possible,” said Alok Kumar, .

“In a big state like UP, it is astonishing that no law is designed to govern the operations of lifts even after incidents of lift malfunctioning occurring on a daily basis,” Kumar added.

Sunil Sharma, MLA from Sahibabad area in Ghaziabad, hopes the draft will turn into a law before the ending of budget session of 2019. 

Interestingly, the first Lift Act was implemented in Maharashtra in 1939 and only 12 out of 29 states have enacted it till now!

UP RERA directs new forum for builder-buyer issues; people call it eyewash

To address the ever-rising number of issues between the buyers and the builders, the UP RERA has directed the local administrative authorities to setup sub-divisional “conciliation forum.”

In a directive issued by UP RERA secretary, Abrar Ahmed, the development authorities (including Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad) have been asked to submit a list with the name of complainants (home buyers), home buyers associations.

The UP RERA also sought the working area of proposed forums, the head office of conciliation forums etc.

The directive was issued on November 16, and the authorities were given a deadline to submit their lists by November 22.

The directive issued to the development authorities read, “UP RERA has developed a software and it is expected to be made functional by the first week of December. The development authorities are expected to fix the date and identify the place for the meeting of the forum. The authorities are also advised to submit the list of home-buyers associations and officials (working under the UP RERA).”

Each sub-divisional forum would be consisting of five members from home buyers association, five members from Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) and one member from the concerned development authority.

However, many home buyers were found to be sceptical about the move and called it just an eyewash.

Mentioning about their experiences in several meetings that they had attended in the past since the U P RERA was formed, home buyers alleged that the officials have always crushed their voices and pressurised to compromise with the builder.

“Whenever I have attended such meetings, I was pressurised to compromise with the builder irrespective of whether the builder is wrong or not. So, I do not think home buyers’ would be listened until an independent committee of RERA members takes the issue,” said a home buyer in Greater Noida West.

A resident of a high rise in Noida, P Chandra said that the existing Medieval and Conciliation Cell (MCC) was set up with the same purpose but it remained on papers only. The home buyers continued to suffer.

“It is a superficial act of the government. It does not realise the pain of thousands of home buyers. They are ignorant about the ground reality,” Chandra added.

People also suggested that there should be a deadline for resolution of issues at the sub-divisional forum.

“In the present setup, people are called after 4-5 months to discuss the issue. They are always advised for conciliation with the builder. The cases should be heard within two months,” said Abhisek Kumar, president of NEFOWA.

The Federation of Apartment Owners Association (FedAOA) in Indirapuram has welcomed the step.

“It would provide a platform to the home buyers to raise their concerns with the builders in presence of the authority. However, it would be early to judge whether it will be a success or not. Similar efforts were put in earlier as well but it did not work out,” said Alok Kumar, president of FedAOA.

With no plausible solution in sight, Amrapali buyers to hold protests frequently

Intrigued with the unending wait for possession of flats in last nine years, the home buyers carried out a protest against the Amrapali Group on Sunday. Around 200 home buyers gathered at the DND toll plaza and blamed the state government for its apathy towards them.

The home buyers said that they have been waiting for action from the government to restart the projects. They blamed both the state and central government for turning deaf ear to the whole issue.

When the Supreme Court started hearing on their complaints against the Amrapali Group nearly one and a half year back, the home buyers had stopped their day-to-day protest, hoping the matter would be solved soon.

But, with no concrete headway in the matter, they have again started protesting against the Amrapali Group.

They have now threatened big protests every 15 days in both Delhi and Noida.

KK Kausal, a home buyer said, “We have started our protests again. The next protest will be held outside the Parliament after 15 days. We waited enough hoping that the government would take over the project on its own or will provide the fund to the NBCC to complete the projects. But, nothing was done. Therefore, we are left with no option but to protest.”

During the protest, they demanded from the government to provide the fund to the NBCC to complete the unfinished projects. The other demand was on providing relief on their bank loan which they took for buying flats. They also demanded to send the directors of Amrapali group in jail and the authorities to take over charge of incomplete buildings.

Neeraj Agnihotri, another flat buyer said, “NBCC has accepted to complete all the projects but the government is not ready to provide the fund. It is the government’s responsibility to provide us with our homes.”

The NBCC had earlier told the Supreme Court that it would take over all incomplete projects of Amrapali group but it needed a huge amount of fund up to Rs 8,500 crores to complete the projects.

However, from where a huge amount of money would come still remains a question and it will decide the fate of over 25,000 home buyers who have invested their hard earned money in the Amrapali group projects.

Dwarka: SDMC says segregation of waste mandatory from Dec in Sectors 22, 23

Concentrating on the need for garbage segregation, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has asked the RWAs and management of residential societies in Sectors 22 and 23 to put waste into two separate bins before it is collected by the corporation staff.

In a circular issued on November 1, the SDMC had said that the segregate of waste is the responsibility of RWAs and management.

Dwarka News

“It will now be mandatory for the residents to segregate waste properly. From December onwards, strict action would be taken against those flouting the norms,” said an official from SDMC on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the RWAs say they have been following the segregation method for some time now, however, it is the SDMC that has failed in disposing of the garbage in the two categories.

SP Langar, president of Green Tower Apartments, said, “We are segregating the waste at our end but the corporation truck mixes it back before lifting. They need to work on improving their system to impose any such law.”

Jyoti Prasad, president of Sadbhavna Apartments in Sector 23, added that waste management doesn’t end at just segregation of the waste, the corporation needs to properly manage it afterwards.

A group of volunteers from different societies are busy these days meeting various RWA members and making them aware of the benefits and ways of waste segregation.

General secretary of Sukh Dukh Ke Sathi and a resident of New Kanchanjunga Apartments in Sector 23, DC Mathur said, “We have been making people aware on the issue. But it would still take some time before all the RWAs and managements could adopt it.”

SDMC officials said that they are prepared to develop the two sectors in the sub city as “model sectors” in waste management. According to the officials, 55 composting pits have been constructed for kitchen waste composting.

GreNo: Green Arch residents miffed as builder randomly allots parking slots

The residents of Green Arch, a newly developed high-rise in Greater Noida West, are handling a different type of parking mess these days.

The residents allege that the builder has arbitrarily allotted them parking slots without keeping in mind the proximity of the slot to the flat owners’ tower. This means that a person living in block X has been randomly given a parking slot in block Y making it inconvenient for the residents.

The allotment hasn’t gone down well with the residents, who say that the builder has clearly not put any thought behind allotting the slots.

For instance, an elderly citizen who lives in in block A has been allotted a parking space in block E. “With the new parking slot, I will have to walk nearly half a kilometre every time to reach the lift for my block. This just doesn’t make any sense. I don’t mind parking in any of the two basements of the society but it should be in my tower only.”

Since the possession of flats started in March this year, nearly 500 families have shifted at Green Arch while 600 more are yet to come. The builder had not allotted parking slots for every flat till now, and as a result, the residents were parking their vehicles at places of their choice.

Talking to City Spidey, another resident said that the builder had informed the residents about the allotment by marking their slots on the pillars in the basement of the society on Monday evening. “When I returned from office, I got to know that I have been given a parking space at block B while I live in block A. Next morning, I received a WhatsApp message stating that parking slot for each flat has been allotted and residents can confirm their allotted parking number from the society office.”

Miffed residents have threatened to launch a protest against the builder if the allotment is not revised soon.

Meanwhile, another resident, Naval Singh, has alleged that the builder has sold parking slots on premium basis. “Builder has sold parking slots in the upper basement for Rs 50,000 and that is why many residents have been allotted slots in other blocks. This is wrong as the builder can only sell extra parking slots,” he said.

Big relief to GreNo West commuters as NMRC starts two bus services

After the repeated requests from the residents of several high rises in Greater Noida West, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has started two city buses to provide last mile connectivity.

The residents of Greater Noida West were struggling with last mile connectivity due to the lack of proper transport facility. Now, they will be able to commute from their residences to the Metro stations in a hassle-free manner.

The NMRC has also extended the routes of two buses till Greater Noida West.

Executive Director of NMRC, PD Upadhayay talking to City Spidey said, “Residents were demanding to provide bus connectivity from their societies. So far, bus services were available from Noida to Gaur City whereas societies located ahead of Gaur City had no bus connectivity. Therefore, we have extended the route of two buses which will be plying till Ace City.”

The buses will be running from Golf Course station in Noida to Ace City in Greater Noida West. The route will cover many high-rises on its way. In fact, there would be a stop near at each society such as – Ace City, Steller Jeevan, Gaur City, Arihant Arden, Havellia, Supertech 1 and many more.

Residents, living in high-rises in Greater Noida West, who were dependent on auto-rickshaws or private buses, have expressed their gratitude to the Noida Authority for providing bus connectivity.

A resident of Eco-village 1, AD Khan, was very excited to know that bus service has been started from Noida to his society. Khan, who was one of the passengers today, shared his experience of a bus ride from Noida to Kisan Chauk.

Khan said, “Last night, one of my friends in the society informed me on WhatsApp that bus service will start from today. I was coming from Jodhpur and when I reached Noida City Center, I did not take an auto to reach my home. Instead, I waited for 15 minutes and took a bus which was moving from Golf Course to Greater Noida West.”

A resident of Ace City, Vivek Srivastava told City Spidey, “In the last one and a half years, there has been a quantum jump in the number of residents in the area. But, in the absence of bus services from Noida or Delhi, office goers used to have a tough time. Residents had to pay a hefty amount to the auto-rickshaws.”

“These CNG-operating buses will not only provide smooth ride between the two cities but would also ensure the security of women, children and senior citizens. Now, women would feel secure while travelling in these buses even during late hours. We are grateful to the NMRC.”

A resident of Arihant Arden, Manish Kumar said, “So far, either we had to use our private vehicles or sharing auto-rickshaws. We used to struggle with parking while using own vehicles. Now, we neither have to change different auto-rickshaws nor waste time in parking.”

Have you heard about the “Robins” of Crossings Republik yet?

Have you heard about the “Robins” of Crossings Republik yet? If you haven’t, time you did. About 30 residents are now a part of a global charitable trust called Robin Hood Army (RHA) that works to distribute surplus food from restaurants and the community to serve those who are most likely to go hungry.

And these humanitarians call themselves Robins, after Robinhood of Sherwood forest.  

Food is collected daily from restaurants, bakeries, hostels, function halls and parties and distributed where it is required. “We visit homeless families, orphanages, patients from public hospitals and old age homes,” says Vinod Bansal, a 28-year-old volunteer, and a resident of Ajnara Gen-X, a condominium in Crossings Republik.

This is mostly the routine for weekdays.

On weekends, they teach kids from slums and encourage them to get enrolled in schools. In fact, a few of them are also supporting the education of such kids. “We also counsel parents who are reluctant about school. We offer financial help as well — we want to rid this area of hunger and illiteracy,” Bansal explains.

RHA started operating in Crossings from this year, on August 15.

Bansal describes RHA as a movement to eradicate one of the most persistent problems of our times — hunger and malnutrition. “Every 10 seconds, a child dies of hunger, while a third of food is wasted every day. The number of deaths is much higher than an epidemic,” he persists.

RHA has no permanent office space. All the work is done through WhatsApp, which they call their virtual office space.

Elaborating on the operations part, Bansal says, “We have over 50 restaurants, dhabas, and many hostels mess as our partners. They ping us on WhatsApp whenever they have surplus food. We then coordinate with our volunteers to fetch the food and distribute ahead.” 

Volunteers of RHA hail from various age groups, ranging from an 11-year-old kid to a 65-year-old citizen. But largely, “Robins” are students and young working professionals — and this is what they do in their free time.

 Anjali Mishra, a resident of Gaur Global Village in Crossings Republik, participates along with her 11-year-old daughter, Tara, in weekly education and food drives.

“I wanted to put a portion of the money I earn for something like this,” says Mishra.

She encouraged her daughter to come along because she wanted point out how the food we generally waste can feed a person. “Remarkably, her habit of wasting food has reduced drastically. Also, she has learned a few lessons in compassion and kindness,” adds the proud mother.

Started in 2014, RHA has its reach in more than 75 cities, spreading across 15 nations. More than 17,000 volunteers support the organisation. Ghaziabad alone has over 1,000 volunteers.